“As long as I win they are unable to say anything,” the young star once stated, but on this occasion he came up short and opponents closed in for him. They said he was overly vocal; came the response that, yeah, they were going to see him off the pitch; they told him words mean little. This included just the players: further remarks from commentators in their pulpits, men who always have opinions.
On the eve the clásico, young Lamine Yamal who says he left fear back in Mataró implied that Real Madrid benefit from decisions and complain, or so it goes. He also provided a reminder that on his previous visit he stepped onto the Santiago Bernabéu – as a youngster with blaugrana braces, a spark in his eye and his shooting ability they didn’t know he possessed – his team triumphed 4-0. But that was then and this was now. Moreover, more mature now, precisely twelve months later, his side fell short. He knew, they told him so.
Bellingham scores clásico winner as the Madrid club open a gap of their rivals
As the match conclusion went on a wild, heated 262nd Madrid-Barca match that felt somewhat like old times, Lamine Yamal walked towards Dani Carvajal, offering a handshake. Rather than taking it, Madrid’s captain did the old talking gesture. The match was challenging keeping up with everything that happened in over an hour and forty-five that went before, a match of numerous attempts, multiple scores recorded and three more disallowed; now it was impossible.
All at once appeared footballers all around, running back and forth of view and piling in, police separating people apart. In the middle the melee, Thibaut Courtois took up the offer to resume this in the dressing room area. Vinícius was restrained, he telling another player else they talk to much. Raphinha was running to stop his countryman, the defender there too. “It was our youth,” the midfielder said.
In April, the French star posted: “Opponents celebrate our losses like our winning days are over. We will return stronger.” Real Madrid had just lost the derby Copa del Rey showpiece 3-2 in extra time, a collective breakdown greeting the end, projectiles flying. A fortnight later, they were beaten again. Over four encounters, the team were defeated on each occasion, league, Copa del Rey and Super Cup won by their rivals. They had conceded four, 5, three and 4. However there remains tomorrow and as it happened he proved correct.
Only once had Barcelona previously won 5 clásicos consecutively, under Guardiola record-breaking streak concluding with the famous 5-0 against José Mourinho’s side, and it was not repeated. This past weekend, Madrid ended the coach’s unbeaten start in charge, beating their arch-rivals 2-1 to move five points ahead in first place of the table.
The Madrid squad had needed the victory. The celebration said so, team members celebrating in circles. Likewise, the noise, the Bernabéu louder and more edgy than on a clásico day for years: “amazing,” Jude Bellingham described it. Manager Xabi Alonso echoed this. Asked whether the win represented a relief, if there had been a mental block regarding important matches, an obsession, Xabi Alonso responded: “That is the media’s narrative.” But he did admit that this was “not just three points, and where we come from and what it means to us; the players needed that feeling of winning a major fixture.”
In the previous campaign Madrid had not won any. On fourteen occasions they were defeated: French side, Milan, Liverpool, Bilbao, Espanyol, Betis, city foes, Valencia and London club all beat them. They did not achieve a single win versus a top-tier opponent. The previous manager departed and was replaced by Alonso yet the trend persisted. Madrid won five games at the Club World Cup, signs of a structure emerging, a game plan, however then came Paris Saint Germain.
That defeat is part of last season, the coach said. Yet the next season, under his guidance term, started with six wins in a row before city rivals came and put 5 past them. It was positive defeating newly promoted, island team and Pamplona side however, against elite opponents? Now at last they defeated a major rival as well. Moreover it wasn’t just that they triumphed, it was the manner they achieved it.
The opposition had players unavailable: backup keeper, Gavi, Dani Olmo, Robert Lewandowski and Andreas Christensen were absent. So too Raphinha, an important player might now be fully recognised by his absence. Others were not at 100%, Jules Koundé and Lamine Yamal included. On the bench were five players who hadn’t started a league game, two more who had started only once; teenagers, young talents and two who are 19. And defender, Ronald Araújo, who finished the match in attack again. Additionally their manager was absent, Hansi Flick banned and stuck in a radio cabin. His assistant, Sorg, was in the dugout on three occasions: he suffered defeats in all of them.
Much is made of Barcelona’s defensive setup, but they did not attack effectively during the match. Among the things that were said to Lamine Yamal that day, maybe the most revealing came from the Brazilian mid-match, taunting the teenager by telling him: “Your play is backwards passes.” As for their defense, more porous compared to past after Iñigo Martínez departing, defensive intensity on opponents dropping and coordination lacking, one opponent created six clear chances against them, another team 5, Sevilla 5, Girona 3. Last year they trapped Kylian Mbappé offside eight times in a high-scoring game; yet, overshadowed by losses, was that in the last meeting he got a hat-trick, Madrid always likely to create chances currently.
With this approach, especially. The match served as a start and also an end in itself. “In the future we will require a lot of what we did in this game,” Alonso commented. The team had the ball in the net on five occasions – three efforts disallowed for offside – failed to convert {a penalty|a spot-kick
Elara is a seasoned writer and digital storyteller with a passion for exploring diverse literary genres and empowering others through words.
